This invention relates generally to nanoreinforced coatings with improved hydrophobicity, thermal stability, hardness and durability.
Significant opportunity exists for technology that can compatabilize the interfaces between dissimilar materials. Polymers in particular utilize a wide variety of inorganic materials as fillers to impart desirable electrical, thermal, mechanical and other physical properties in the final composition. The hydrocarbon composition of polymers often renders them incompatible with the inorganic composition of most filler systems. (Polymers include aliphatics, olefininic, aromatic, and heterofunctional systems (representative examples include polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutadiene, polyethers, polyimides, epoxides, acrylics, styrenics, polysulfides, polysulfones, polycarbonadtes, polyesters, polyamindes). Also included are all classes of polymers, for example glasses, semicrystalline, crystalline and elastomers. (Representative fillers include fillers such as layered silicates, clay, calcium carbonate, talc, Wollanstonite, diatomacious earth Kaloin, ATH (aluminum trihydrate), vermiculite, baryte, glass, metal, metal oxides, and wood.) It has become common practice to treat the surfaces of particulate fillers with surfactants and silane coupling agents to promote surface compatability between these disimilar material types. An extension of this practice has been to utilize silanes and surfactants as exfoliants in the gallery layers of mineral and synthetic silicates. (Mineral and synthetic silicates include bentonite, hectorite, montmorillonite.) The goal of such surface interior and exterior surface modification has been to expand the spacing between adjacient silicate sheets and to compatabilize their interior surfaces to polymers and thereby improve both their dispersion and reinforcement characteristics.